Rating = Solid 3.5 Mostly due to the story telling
Blurb = (Scale 1-5) 4. 5
My Genre Scale = (Scale 1-5) 4.5
Odds if not your genre = (Scale 1-5) 2 unless in the mood for brain candy
Development of: = (Scale 1-5)
*World = 4 (developed over series)
*Plot = 4
*Characters (scratch below the surface?) = 3
What stood out = The number of times I was thrown out of the book due to a lack of proofing or something. Example: A sentence would start along the lines of, "All those hours spent studying magic users." That would literally be it. I bet there were even more instances than all the ones I noticed, but my brain just automatically filled in the blanks. With context, it was typically easy to fill in the intended words, but it seriously disrupted the flow.
Mood Type / Appeal to those looking for = Liked the previous 2 books
Warnings = Does touch on some very serious subjects and past abuses that may cause issues for some.
Series Notes = 3rd of a Trilogy
*Reading on? N/a
*Reading back to back? No, I read the first 2 around 2 years ago.
*Can be easily read without the previous? Not really. I was a little confused at times with all the names etc... . Even as I continued to read very little came back to me about the previous happenings and support characters. I was given ample info to not feel completely lost. I just Duxbury have anything vested in these characters anymore nor did I really understand their dynamics like I would have if read back to back.
Rating Notes = (SubPlots & HEA)
The characters including many of the supporting ones definitely get their HEA. The climax has some unique little twists to it. Despite the flaws I enjoyed it overall. If not for the number of times I was thrown out, I would have probably given it 4 stars, instead of the 3 for an average read.
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Below are my explanations or thoughts on reviewing!
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1.Obviously no review can take into account all the various personal pet peeves of readers. But, I do try to take into account the common ones often bemoaned by other reviewers
2. If used in this review, the term Brain candy is not necessarily negative. It has its uses and at times it is my preference when I just want to pass some time; so it does not carry a negative connotation for me - unless I'm expecting the next great novel. (What falls under brain candy? The book is meant for pure entertainment to pass time. It may be formulaic, from an author published quickly like monthly, things escalate fast, and are often solved easily etc.. Publishing industries version of pop music. Beach type reads etc... ).
3. Blurb rating purpose:
Like many readers, I do not like to think I'm reading one kind of story; just to end up with another type. But...I also don't think a book should be docked stars for being as stated. If I don't like stories about "_________", and I choose to read one. I shouldn't give it 2 stars based JUST on my preferences. Unless... it wasn't clear in the blurb.
4. Other Factors that effect my perspective when reviewing:
Since 2009, I have exclusively read m/m. My 1st was in 2007. I am a Kindle diehard, and I never do audio for m/m. I read at least 100+ books a year - with an average length of 220± pages; but the total number of books is usually much higher. My Goodreads lifetime rating (at the start of 2020) was a 3.72 average for 1390 books. Which considering, you should be better at picking out books the more you read, I feel is a accurate average. I have over 700 reviews within the m/m genre here on Goodreads.